Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Data, Innovation, and Analytics
Scientific Computing Unit for Business Advancement
May 8, 2023
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| BSc Biomedical science | VU Amsterdam | ’01 - ’04 |
| MSc Neuroscience | VU Amsterdam | ’04 - ’06 |
| PhD Cogn Neuro: control w/ fMRI & TMS | Utrecht University | ’06 - ’11 |
| Postdoc 1 Cogn Neuro: control & perceptual decision-making w/ modeling | Vanderbilt University | ’11 - ’14 |
| Postdoc 2 Cogn Neuro: control & value-based decision-making w/ modeling & fMRI | Radboud University | ’14 - ’19 |
What happened?
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | Nederlandse Spoorwegen | ’19 - ’now |
| Data Science Tech Lead | Nederlandse Spoorwegen | ’22 - ’now |
Scientific Computing Unit for Business Advancement
Diverse in terms of:
Creating meaningful impact for NS by solving business problems with end-to-end data science solutions
Three senior data scientists and engineers
Supporting NS’ transition to a data-driven organization by:
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| BSc Biomedical science | VU Amsterdam | ’01 - ’04 |
| MSc Neuroscience | VU Amsterdam | ’04 - ’06 |
| PhD Cogn Neuro: control w/ fMRI & TMS | Utrecht University | ’06 - ’11 |
| Postdoc 1 Cogn Neuro: control & perceptual decision-making w/ modeling | Vanderbilt University | ’11 - ’14 |
| Postdoc 2 Cogn Neuro: control & value-based decision-making w/ modeling & fMRI | Radboud University | ’14 - ’19 |
Throughout my second postdoc I got increasingly frustrated with academia and saw possibilities in data science
| Topic | Away from academia | Towards data science |
|---|---|---|
| Hypercompetition | Few permanent contracts and grants | Less competition: skills in demand, permanent contracts common |
| Poor work-life balance | Long weeks, solo responsibility | Normal weeks, shared responsibility |
| Less time for research | Decreasing due to teaching, grantwriting, admin duties | “Research” is main task |
| State of affairs | Lack of transparency, openness, reproducibility | ? |
| Learning opportunities | Perceived few learning opportunities | Opportunities to grow in engineering, business leadership |
| Low impact | Narrow (citations mainly) and uncertain (replicability) | Tangible and direct |
Goal: could data science be something for me?
Confirmed this could be worth trying
Goal: could data science be something for me?
I enjoyed learning new tools and seeing how statistics / data science could be applied in business
| Core value | Expression in adademia | Expression in data science at NS |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous learning | That’s what a PhD and postdoc is all about | Gaining new expertise in engineering, leadership, business |
| Independence | Having your own research project and research line | Working in self-organizing teams |
| Integrity & Openness | Core scientific values + my work on open science | Core topics at NS, expressed at multiple levels |
| Making a difference | Expanding knowledge | Creating value by solving business problems with data science |
| Leadership | Supervision, mentoring, leading by example | Helping NS becoming more data-driven |